Washington

Ferguson and Reichert move toward November showdown in Washington governor’s race

Published

2 years ago

August 7, 2024

Ferguson and Reichert move toward November showdown in Washington governor’s race

Jerry Cornfield
| Washington State Standard

Democrat Bob Ferguson and Republican Dave Reichert will battle to be Washington’s next governor in November after storming to the front of the 28-person field in Tuesday’s primary.

Ferguson, 59, the three-term attorney general, had hauled in around 45.5% of the vote, according to results posted by the secretary of state around 8:30 p.m. Reichert, 73, a seven-term congressman and former King County sheriff, received 27.9%.

The Associated Press called the primary for Ferguson and Reichert around 8:15 p.m.

Both dusted off intraparty challenges to their political right.

State results: See primary election totals for legislative districts and statewide races

Republican Semi Bird, a former Richland school board member and the Washington State Republican Party’s endorsed candidate, had 9.4%. Democratic state Sen. Mark Mullet, running as a moderate alternative to Ferguson, was fourth with 5.8%.

Gov. Jay Inslee’s decision to retire means Washington will get a new governor for the first time in 12 years.

Recent history shows battles for open seats are close. In 2004, Democrat Christine Gregoire defeated Republican Dino Rossi by just 129 votes following a hand recount. Eight years later, Inslee collected 51.5% en route to beating Republican Rob McKenna.

Washington’s last Republican governor was John Spellman. He was elected in 1980 but lost re-election. Since then, Democrats have won 10 straight gubernatorial contests.

Ferguson entered the race as the presumptive frontrunner. He had a stockpile of cash from prior campaigns, organization and he’d already done a bit of groundwork in 2020 when it seemed Inslee, after a failed presidential bid, would step aside rather than seek a third term.

But Inslee ran, scuttling Ferguson’s gubernatorial ambitions. Ferguson instead won another term as the state’s top lawyer.

A tireless campaigner, Ferguson vacuumed up endorsements of Democratic Party organizations across the state and is the top choice of the state Democratic Party. He had raised $9 million and spent just over $7 million as of Monday, according to filings with the Public Disclosure Commission.

While he’s won backing from the party’s left-flank, he’s campaigned on a Republican-oriented message of improving public safety and hiring cops. He’s also outlined plans to make housing more affordable and to resolve problems plaguing Washington State Ferries.

Reichert is running after years of considering a bid for this office. He’s raised $4.4 million and spent $3.9 million ahead of Election Day.

He too talks about reducing crime, making communities safer, and lowering every day costs for families. And Reichert has, at times, looked to tie Ferguson to the myriad of policies passed by the Democratic majority in Legislature and signed by Inslee.

Expect abortion to be a central focal point in their battle this fall.

Ferguson has attacked Reichert unrelentingly for his votes in Congress on bills that, had they passed, would have imposed greater limits on abortion access than allowed in the state.

Reichert put out an ad in the primary stating that if elected he won’t work to change Washington laws. But it won’t erase the issue given his history.

He’s personally opposed to abortion. In his seven terms in Congress, he supported bills to eliminate federal funding for it and create a national abortion ban at 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Meanwhile, he and other Republicans have chastised Ferguson for being soft on public safety issues during his time as attorney general.

In the meantime, Bird and Mullet proved to be pesky challengers for each of their parties frontrunners. And their supporters could spell the difference in November for Ferguson and Reichert.

Bird, a military veteran, snagged the state Republican Party endorsement and had boisterous support from a bloc of the party that is more conservative on social issues and wary of government overreach.

He also faced scrutiny from some in the party. They viewed him as unelectable, citing his 2023 recall from the school board and personal travails including a misdemeanor conviction three decades ago for seeking to obtain a line of credit by forging his dad’s name on a bank application.

“I take full accountability,” he told delegates at the state party convention before they endorsed him. His campaign struggled to gain traction after the convention.

Mullet encountered similar hurdles running as a social progressive and fiscal conservative.

He criticized Ferguson for supporting the decriminalization of drugs and raised questions about the attorney general’s fundraising. Those swipes at his Democratic opponent failed to meaningfully shift the dynamics of the race, as Mullet struggled to overcome a lack of name recognition and, despite support from pro-business donors, trailed far behind Ferguson raising money.

This story was initially published by Washington State Standard, a nonprofit news organization and part of the States Newsroom network, covering state issues. Read more at www.washingtonstatestandard.com.

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Washington

Brothers shot Park Police officer who arrested one of them the day before, documents say

Published

2 days ago

March 25, 2026

Press Room

Brothers shot Park Police officer who arrested one of them the day before, documents say

Charging documents reveal the U.S. Park Police officer who was shot Monday in Southeast D.C. had arrested one of the suspects the day before and was following that suspect at the time.

The suspects are brothers, 22-year-old Asheile Foster and 21-year-old Darren Foster, of Southeast. They appeared in federal court Wednesday afternoon.

Court documents state the Park Police officer who was shot had arrested Asheile Foster on Sunday on suspicion of dealing drugs. The officer said he followed Foster after he was released from jail on Monday and came to Park Police headquarters to get his personal belongings.

According to prosecutors, Foster told police he knew he was being followed by a white Tesla, and he confronted the officer on Queens Stroll Place SE, jumping out in front of the Tesla before the officer swerved around him.

Then, dozens of gunshots went off, the officer told police. He said in charging documents he was shot in the shoulder as he kept driving several blocks to the intersection of Benning Road and Southern Avenue SE, where police found him. A helicopter then took him to a hospital. According to charging documents, the officer was treated and released the same night as the shooting.

A U.S. Park Police officer who was shot in Southeast D.C. on Monday is recovering from what authorities say was likely a targeted attack. Multiple law enforcement sources tell News4’s Mark Segraves that when the officer was shot, he was investigating a shooting that occurred in Anacostia Park on Friday.

Photos in the charging documents show the brothers firing at the officer’s Tesla, according to prosecutors.

The shooting drew a massive police presence to the Southeast neighborhood near the D.C-Maryland border Monday night.

Shell casings littered the middle of the street. Police said they recovered two weapons: a Glock 9 with an extended magazine and an AR-15.

Prosecutors said that when the officer was shot, he was investigating a shooting that occurred in Anacostia Park on Friday. No one was injured in that shooting.

Darren Foster was located and stopped shortly after the shooting, D.C. police said. Asheile Foster was found on Tuesday.

The brothers were charged with assault on a federal officer, assault with intent to kill and weapons charges. They could face up to 60 years in prison if they’re convicted.

News4 sends breaking news stories by email. Go here to sign up to get breaking news alerts in your inbox.

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Washington

Washington passes new AI laws to crack down on misinformation, protect minors

Published

3 days ago

March 24, 2026

Press Room

Washington passes new AI laws to crack down on misinformation, protect minors

Washington just became the latest state to regulate artificial intelligence.

Under a pair of bills signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson Tuesday, companies like OpenAI and Anthropic will have to include new disclosures in their popular chatbots for Washington users.

Ferguson asked legislators to craft House Bill 1170 to crack down on AI-generated misinformation. When content is substantially modified using generative AI, that information will now have to be traceable using watermarks or metadata. The new law applies to large AI companies more than 1 million monthly subscribers.

“ I’m confident I’m not the only Washingtonian who often sees something on my phone and wondering to myself, ‘Is that AI or is it real?’ And I feel like I’m a reasonably discerning person,” Ferguson said during the bill signing. “It is virtually impossible these days.”

RELATED: WA Gov. Bob Ferguson calls for regulations on AI chatbot companions

House Bill 2225 establishes new guard rails for AI chatbots that act like friends or companions. It applies to services like ChatGPT and Claude, but excludes more narrowly tailored chatbots, like the customer service windows that pop up when visiting a corporate website.

Chatbots that fit the bill will have to disclose to users that they are not human at the start of every conversation, and every three hours in an ongoing chat. The tools will also be barred from pretending to be human in conversation with users.

The rules go further if the user is a minor. Companies that operate chatbots will have to disclose that the tools are not human every hour, rather than every three hours, if the user is under 18. The bill forbids AI companions from having sexually explicit conversations with underage users. It also bans “manipulative engagement techniques.” For example, a chatbot is not allowed to guilt or pressure a minor into staying in a conversation or keeping information from parents.

“AI has incredible potential to transform society,” Ferguson said. “At the same time, of course, there are risks that we must mitigate as a state, especially to young people. So I speak partly as a governor, but also as the father of teenage twins who grapple with this as a lot of parents do every single day.”

Under the law, AI chatbots will not be allowed to encourage or provide information on suicide or self-harm, including eating disorders. The companies behind these tools will be required to come up with a protocol for flagging conversations that reference self-harm and connecting users with mental health services.

The regulations come in the wake of several high-profile instances of teenage suicide following prolonged interactions with AI companions that showed warning signs. Many more AI users of all ages have reported mental health issues and psychosis after heavy use of the technology.

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Washington

Washington faces Utah, aims to stop 16-game skid

Published

3 days ago

March 24, 2026

Press Room

Washington faces Utah, aims to stop 16-game skid

Washington Wizards (16-55, 14th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Utah Jazz (21-51, 14th in the Western Conference)

Salt Lake City; Wednesday, 9 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: Washington heads into the matchup with Utah after losing 16 in a row.

The Jazz have gone 13-24 in home games. Utah ranks second in the Western Conference with 16.6 fast break points per game led by Lauri Markkanen averaging 3.3.

The Wizards are 5-29 in road games. Washington is 9-10 when it has fewer turnovers than its opponents and averages 15.3 turnovers per game.

The Jazz score 117.4 points per game, 6.7 fewer points than the 124.1 the Wizards give up. The Wizards’ 46.1% shooting percentage from the field this season is 2.9 percentage points lower than the Jazz have allowed to their opponents (49.0%).

The teams square off for the second time this season. The Jazz won the last meeting 122-112 on March 6, with Ace Bailey scoring 32 points in the victory.

TOP PERFORMERS: Kyle Filipowski is averaging 10.5 points and 6.9 rebounds for the Jazz. Brice Sensabaugh is averaging 19.9 points over the last 10 games.

Alex Sarr is averaging 16.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and two blocks for the Wizards. Will Riley is averaging 14.4 points over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Jazz: 3-7, averaging 116.4 points, 43.3 rebounds, 27.7 assists, 9.9 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 45.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 122.7 points per game.

Wizards: 0-10, averaging 114.3 points, 37.4 rebounds, 24.5 assists, 6.9 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 47.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 130.6 points.

INJURIES: Jazz: Lauri Markkanen: out (hip), Isaiah Collier: out (hamstring), Keyonte George: out (leg), Cody Williams: out (shoulder), Walker Kessler: out for season (shoulder), Jusuf Nurkic: out for season (nose), Jaren Jackson Jr.: out for season (knee).

Wizards: Anthony Davis: out (finger), Tristan Vukcevic: day to day (back), Cam Whitmore: out for season (shoulder), Alex Sarr: day to day (toe), Tre Johnson: day to day (foot), Kyshawn George: out (elbow), D’Angelo Russell: out (not injury related), Trae Young: out (quad).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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